Hidden Habits
by eleven11eleven
Summary: James returns to the Heads common room to find Remus smoking, but is surprised to find that his companion isn't who he expected. A silly way Lily and James could have got together inspired by a quip I read about stoner!remus somewhere.


This popped into my head after reading a quip about stoned Remus and I figured, hey if he is allowed a guilty pleasure, Lily should be too!

Also - I am planning on writing a sequel to A Surprise Visit, I just haven't gotten around to it!

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><p>With a sigh, I mutter the password to the Heads common room. Herbology had been a complete mess today. Three bubotuber plants exploded all over me—luckily the dragonhide gloves prevented any real damage, but I'm soaked almost head to toe in the pus.<p>

As soon as I push the portrait open, I'm hit with the powerful smell of weed. _Classic Remus._ Since I moved into the Heads dorm, Remus had started smoking here more and more, claiming it was fair more comfortable than his dorm's bathroom (_fair enough, I guess what Lily doesn't know can't hurt her_).

Staying in the hallway, I pull my shirt over his head so I drag pus into the common room, which I know would irritate Lily. As I start to undo my belt buckle, I hear Remus laugh and say something to his companion. _I swear to Merlin if Padfoot is smoking the day before such an important game…_

"Sirius Orion Black, you are incorrigible! I'll personally strangle you if you are smoking with Moony! We have practice in two hours!"

Apparently, something about that was just completely hilarious because it is met with more out of control laughter from Remus. I attempt to rearrange my features in a scowl before popping my head around the corner to see what was going on.

Shocked, I drop my belt with a giant clank, which only evokes _more_ laughter from the people on the couch. However, it was not at all what I was expecting. No, it isn't Sirius on the couch with Remus, it is perfect Head Girl Lily Evans.

"…Lils?"

She acknowledges me with a short giggle and a roll of the eye.

"What… I don't… er… since when do you smoke?"

Lily bumps shoulders with Remus. "See, Remmy, this is what I was talking about. He's just so daft sometimes."

"Hey! I resent that!"

Instead of apologizing, she leans forward and rips a line of paper off what appears to be last week's Transfiguration essay and begins to roll a fresh blunt. "It's like, shit can be right in front of his face and he's just too oblivious to notice."

Once again, I open my mouth to defend myself, but Moony not-so-subtly slashes his finger across his neck to shush me. _Well fine then, _I can see where I'm not wanted, _it's not like I don't need a shower anyway. _

As I'm trudging towards our bathroom, Lily continues her tirade against my intelligence. _Remind me why I love her again? _

"I mean, does he really think I _don't _notice that you smoke in here?" _Well, she'd never said anything so I kind of assumed not_. "Which is hilarious because _he's_ the one who is so unaware that he never seems to notice that I'm as high as you are afterwards."

_What? _ This is so much new information all at once. Not only is Lily sitting on our couch, high as a kite, smoking with Moony, this is apparently a common occurrence? Bloody hell.

Passing the blunt to Remus, she examines her hair, flipping it back and forth to catch the sunlight. Not going to lie, she's kind of adorable high.

Remus, ever the voice of reason, chimes in. "It might have something to do with that smelly stuff and eyetears you use… kinda hides some of the… er physical signs. I should really invest in some of that. Do you think I could get a muggle grocery store to deliver here? It just works so much better than the wizarding stuff."

Unlikely, but okay Remus.

"I bet we could get it shipped somewhere in Hogsmeade," she says dismissively, intent on continuing her rant. "But it's not even just the stupid stuff like this." Lily leans back into the couch and pouts. A cute pout, though.

I start to pull the bathroom door shut, all done hearing the (albeit, probably not completely serious seeing as we are friends now) verbal abuse, but Remus waves his hands wildly to get me to stop. _I don't get that boy. _First he wants me to shut up, and then he protests my leaving_. Pick an option, Moony_.

"Yeah? Whatcha mean, Lils?" He leans back into the couch as well and takes another hit from the blunt and passes it back.

After a long drag, Lily looks like she is struggling to put the right words together. She appears to be too focused on her rant to realize that I'm actually still here.

"It's just like… I don't get how I can drop so many hints and the tosser still doesn't get it. At this rate I think I could jump his bones and the git probably still wouldn't realize that I'm disgustingly in love with him and his stupid big ego and stupid sex hair."

_Wait, what? _

_Jump his bones… love… him… meaning me? Wait, SEX HAIR? _

"Excuse me!?" I practically shout. Lily freezes, slowly looking at me with wide eyes.

Remus rises and chuckles again, grabbing the blunt back from Lily and taking one final hit. After holding it out to Lily for a few seconds, he simply sticks it into her slightly ajar mouth.

On his way to the portrait hole, he slaps me on the shoulder. "There you go, mate. I knew if you shut up long enough, she'd say it again sooner or later. Lily, here, is a big fan of the truth when she's high." He glances over at Lily, who has finally come out of shock but looks like she might not ever want to look up from her lap again.

Remus claps his hands and rubs them together as he backs out of the room. "Well, you kids have fun now. Don't do anything Sirius wouldn't do!"

Hesitantly, I walk over to the couch that Lily is slumped down into. As I sit, she offers me the last bit of the blunt. She has a slightly pleading look in her eye, like she thinks this conversation will be somehow less awkward if I'm just a little high too_. Oh sod it, might as well. _

"Never thought I'd see the day where Lily Evans is as rebellious as a Marauder. Even if it is the most bookish one."

Lily giggles awkwardly and I flick the remains of the blunt into the ashtray on the table. Upon closer inspection, I see that the paper on the table is Moony's essay on animagi from last week that he somehow got a P on. Well, half of it anyway.

When I lean back into the couch, I fall closer to Lily so that the sides of our bodies are touching. The weed slowly makes its way to my head and I sit quietly for a minute. Finally, the tension in the room is too awkward to bear.

"So… should we talk about the hippogriff in the room?"

Lily perks up a bit and rolls to face me. "Does it bother you that your best friend is my smoking buddy? Because if so, I guess I could find a new one."

I can't help but laugh. "Nah, it doesn't bother me. Actually, I think it's kind of nice, in some bizarre way."

Lily smiles. "Good because it's been two years and it'd be really inconvenient to have to find a new buddy after all that time. And to be honest, I probably wouldn't. It's not like you noticed this far."

Ah, there's honesty at its finest. "Ha. Ha. Ha. But that's not the hippogriff I was talking about."

"Oh." Suddenly, she seems far more entranced with the small hole on the thigh of her jeans than she was a moment ago, but she doesn't turn away.

I roll so I'm facing her too, now. "That… _love_ comment… did you mean it?"

Looking up at me through hooded eyelids, she says, "If I did, would you hate me?"

I smirk. "Quite the contrary, love."

"Well then, yes, I meant it."

"Good answer."

Without hesitating, I lean in and kiss her softly on the lips. And I can say with upmost certainty that the tingles I feel are definitely _not_ a result of the weed.


End file.
